Method and system of attachment and detection of attachment of a wearable sensor to clothing material

ABSTRACT

A method and system of universal, secure attachment with attachment detection mechanism, of a wearable sensor-unit to any article of clothing worn around the body in order to measure vital signals of a person, such as motion, movements and activity levels. The method and system permits: reliable attachment to any article of clothing; an attachment in any position to clothing or fabric worn by a person; and detection for the wearable sensor attachment to an article of clothing to minimize false alarms.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/923,460 filed Jan. 3, 2014, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present principles relate to wearable sensors. More particularly, itrelates to a method of universal attachment of a wearable sensor toarticles of clothing worn around the subject's body in order to measurebody movement, motion and activity level by such a sensor or pluralityof sensors. The invention also relates to a method of detecting theattachment of wearable sensor to clothing.

Related Art

Previous known approaches in the area of medical portable devicesaddressed the problem of measuring health status of adults through theuse of restrictive and intrusive attachments of devices, fixed to bodyvia tight straps and adhesive materials that are not applicable forinfant and newborn care, as they restrict blood flow and irritate thefragile skin of subjects. Existing approaches presume that the signalcoming of the sensor is reliable and do not deal with a method ofimproving the signal strength by finding the best position of thesensor.

An invention described in this art introduces a novel design foruniversal attachment of a non-restrictive wearable sensor to any articleof clothing in a position best suited for measurement of vital healthsignals, such as but not limited to body movements, sound, light,pressure, proximity, conductance, activity levels, heart rate, bloodoxygen level and temperature. The sensor unit is worn on clothingwithout restricting the blood flow through the extremities of thesubject.

Existing approaches require a specific static placement of wearablesensors, such as into pockets or on wristbands, or special clothing withembedded sensors. Existing approaches also do not ensure safeguardsagainst incorrect placement. Incorrect placement of the sensor willresult in false alarms or aberrant measurements. Some embodiments ofinvention described here include a method for detection if the sensor isattached to the clothing in a secure manner and ready for operation orif it is detached, thus providing some safeguards against incorrectattachment and minimizing amount of false alarms.

-   -   Methods and devices for clothing detection about a wearable        electronic device—U.S. Pat. No. 8,541,745 B2. This publication        is materially and significantly different from the art described        in this invention, as it deals with the devices worn in pockets        and around wristbands and do not address universal placement of        a sensor anywhere on article of clothing, nor with detection of        such attachment.    -   Wearable electronic system—WO2009148595 A2. This art is        sufficiently different from the art of this invention, as it        focuses on plurality of wearable components into a single        assembly.    -   Wearable system for monitoring parameters of four vital signs of        human bodies in real time—CN102018504 B. This art is        sufficiently different from this invention, as it describes        placement of sensors on a wristwatch, a belt and on specific        places on clothing.

SUMMARY

According to an implementation, the method for attaching and securing awearable sensor to an article of clothing includes providing a sensorclip-on casing having a surface defining an opening and providing asensor configured to be received into the opening of the clip-on casing.An article of clothing is position between the opening of the sensorclip-on casing and the sensor, and the sensor is squeezed or pushed intothe opening of the sensor clip-on casing such that the article ofclothing is sandwiched between the sensor and the sensor clip-on casing.

According to another implementation, the wearable sensor includes anouter clip-on casing having an opening, and a sensor assembly configuredto be received and secured into the outer clip-on casing opening. Whenan article of clothing is positioned between the outer clip-on casingand the sensor before they are press fit together such that the sameresults in a secure fit between clip-on casing and sensor.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentprinciples will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof exemplary embodiments, which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present principles may be better understood in accordance with thefollowing exemplary figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the wearable sensor notattached to an article of clothing, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wearable sensor attached to anarticle of clothing, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of sensor-unit device, a subject ofhealth monitoring, of a mobile reader device and their interactionsaccording to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another implementation of the wearablesensor with mobile reader and an external health monitoring system,according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present principles are directed to wearable sensors and theattachment of the same to clothing of a wearer.

The present description illustrates the present principles. It will thusbe appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devisevarious arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shownherein, embody the present principles and are included within its spiritand scope.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the presentprinciples and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furtheringthe art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to suchspecifically recited examples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, andembodiments of the present principles, as well as specific examplesthereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functionalequivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalentsinclude both currently known equivalents as well as equivalentsdeveloped in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform thesame function, regardless of structure.

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the block diagrams presented herein represent conceptual views ofillustrative circuitry embodying the present principles. Similarly, itwill be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, statetransition diagrams, pseudocode, and the like represent variousprocesses which may be substantially represented in computer readablemedia and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not suchcomputer or processor is explicitly shown.

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may beprovided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardwarecapable of executing software in association with appropriate software.When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a singlededicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality ofindividual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicituse of the term “processor” or “controller” should not be construed torefer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and mayimplicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (“DSP”)hardware, read-only memory (“ROM”) for storing software, random accessmemory (“RAM”), and non-volatile storage.

Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Theirfunction may be carried out through the operation of program logic,through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control anddedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique beingselectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from thecontext.

In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing aspecified function is intended to encompass any way of performing thatfunction including, for example, a) a combination of circuit elementsthat performs that function or b) software in any form, including,therefore, firmware, microcode or the like, combined with appropriatecircuitry for executing that software to perform the function. Thepresent principles as defined by such claims reside in the fact that thefunctionalities provided by the various recited means are combined andbrought together in the manner which the claims call for. It is thusregarded that any means that can provide those functionalities areequivalent to those shown herein.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” ofthe present principles, as well as other variations thereof, means thata particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations,appearing in various places throughout the specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

FIG. 1 depicts a wearable sensor-unit 10 before attachment to an articleof clothing. This figure demonstrates a method of universal attachment.As shown, the sensor 10 includes a sensor part 12 and an clip-on casing20. The sensor 12 includes a bottom or lower surface 14, contoured lowercorners 18, and an optical sensor 16. The clip-on casing 20 includes awindow or opening 22 in a top surface thereof and side surface 24. Thebottom of surface 24 has slightly curved in portions 28 configured tofrictionally grip onto the lower corners 18 of the sensor 12. Examplesof materials that can be used for the clip-on casing 20 and/or thesensor part 12 are any materials that have been considered safe forchildren, such as, for example, ABS plastic (i.e., AcrylonitrileButadiene Styrene). Those of skill in the art will appreciate that othermaterials could be used for the clip-on casing 20 and/or the sensor 12without departing from the intended scope of the present disclosure.

The sensor 12 includes an optical sensor 16 in an upper surface thereofand a corresponding window or opening 22 in the clip-on casing 20. Thus,when the sensor 12 is either not fastened to the clip-on casing 20, oris fastened therein without being attached to an article of clothing,light will pass unimpeded to optical sensor 16, thus indicating that thesame is not attached to an article of clothing. As will be discussedfurther below, sensor 12 will transmit a signal to a remote device(e.g., computing device such as a smartphone, or other computing device)thus indicating that the same is not attached to an article of clothing.Further details on the internal workings of sensor 12 are discussedbelow with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 2 shows the wearable sensor 10 attached to an article of clothing30. To achieve that state, a user-operator has to place clothingmaterial 30 in between the external clip-on casing 20 and an internalhousing containing sensor 12. Then a user-operator presses the internalhousing containing sensor 12 into the external clip-on casing 20 untilthe surface 24 snap over the lower corners they will securely fasten,confining clothing material in between. Thickness of clothing materialwill diminish margins within the attachment and add to the strength ofattachment by making it more securely held. As shown, when the clothing30 is sandwiched between the sensor 12 and clip-on casing 20, curvedportions 28 frictionally engage the lower corners 18 and “snap” thesensor onto the clothing in a secure manner. The thickness of theclothing 30 increases the friction between the clip-on casing 20 andsensor 12, thus providing for a very secure attachment.

Once the sensor 12 is inserted into the clip-on casing 20, the clothing30 will operate to block light from passing to optical sensor 16. Inthis manner, the sensor 12 will transmit a signal to the remote device(e.g., computing device such as a smartphone, or other computingdevice), thus indicating that the sensor has been attached to an articleof clothing.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the operation of wearable sensor 10.The user 1 attaches the sensor 10 to an article of their clothing (notshown). The sensor 10 is in remote communication with a mobilecomputing/reading device 102, such as, for example, a smartphone, atablet, a laptop or any other suitable computing device. For homeapplications, the computing device need not be mobile, but it ispreferred that computing device 102 is a mobile device.

The mobile reader device 102 is configured to measure, for example, ahealth status signal provide by the sensor. This health status signalcan then be transmitted to a health status database 210. The healthstatus database 210 can operate in many ways in accordance with thepresent principles. For example, health status database 210 can respondto the health status signal by sending a signal back to the mobilecomputing/reader device. This response can be an “all is ok” signalindicating that the health status of the individual has not changed in amanner that warrants any concern (e.g., signal received indicates thatthe monitored conditions are still within predetermined ranges for thesame). Alternatively, the response could be “heart rate is high”, “bloodpressure” is low, or any other health related type of warning indicatingthat the monitored condition is now outside the predetermined ranges forthat individual. In this case, an alert or trigger would be sent to themobile reader 102. In this situation, a mobile reader device detects atransmitted alert, triggering an alarm within a mobile reader deviceenvironment. Alarm in a mobile reader device may be audible, visual or acombination of both, and may also include an audible and/or visual alertnotification to a third party, such as hospital. In other alternatives,the mobile reader could send a text message or call a third party with aprerecorded message.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the sensor unit 20 consists of amicro-controller or processor 201, a low energy wireless transmitter202, at least one sensor or array of sensors 203 and a power source 204that powers the device and all sensor unit components. The mobilereader/computing device 102 consists of several components specific fora mobile device, however, only those of relevance to the presentinvention are disclosed. By way of example, the mobile device 201includes a low energy reader 206, a processing application 207 runningwithin a processor and to be displayed on a user interface 208 as afront end to show health status signal and alerts, and a wirelesstransmitter/receiver 209. As shown in the present example, mobile device102 detects and reads sensor unit 20 by receiving wireless low energysignals transmitted from the sensor. The mobile device 102 mayre-transmit the signal further via the wireless transmitter 209 to athird-party, such as the health status database server located off-site210. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the wirelesstransmitter/receiver 209 of the mobile device can be WiFi based, or RFbased depending on the transmitting/receiving necessary.

According to one implementation, the sensor unit MCU 201 will store andrun some software that uses the signal measured by an optical sensor 16in order to detect if a wearable sensor is attached to clothingmaterial. In this regard, those of skill in the art will appreciate thatMCU 201 will either include its own memory, or the sensor unit 20 willhave a memory component operating in conjunction with the MCU 201.

With respect to the one or more specific sensors 203 contained in thesensor device 20, a non-limiting list of examples of such sensors couldbe, for example, blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, sound, light,pressure, conductance etc. According to other contemplated embodiments,one sensor can measure and transmit a signal that is processed by themobile device or health database to derive multiple sensed conditionsfrom the received signal. By way of further example, through the use ofaccelerometers, the transmitted signal can include multiple readingswhich when deciphered/decoded by the mobile device or connected healthdatabase, things like position, movement (or lack thereof), activitylevels, fall detection, tremors, etc. can all be derived and detectedfrom the transmitted signal.

These and other features and advantages of the present principles may bereadily ascertained by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art basedon the teachings herein. It is to be understood that the teachings ofthe present principles may be implemented in various forms of hardware,software, firmware, special purpose processors, or combinations thereof.

Most preferably, the teachings of the present principles are implementedas a combination of hardware and software. Moreover, the software may beimplemented as an application program tangibly embodied on a programstorage unit. The application program may be uploaded to, and executedby, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, themachine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such asone or more central processing units (“CPU”), a random access memory(“RAM”), and input/output (“I/O”) interfaces. The computer platform mayalso include an operating system and microinstruction code. The variousprocesses and functions described herein may be either part of themicroinstruction code or part of the application program, or anycombination thereof, which may be executed by a CPU. In addition,various other peripheral units may be connected to the computer platformsuch as an additional data storage unit and a printing unit.

It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituentsystem components and methods depicted in the accompanying drawings arepreferably implemented in software, the actual connections between thesystem components or the process function blocks may differ dependingupon the manner in which the present principles are programmed. Giventhe teachings herein, one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art will beable to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurationsof the present principles.

Although the illustrative embodiments have been described herein withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that thepresent principles is not limited to those precise embodiments, and thatvarious changes and modifications may be effected therein by one ofordinary skill in the pertinent art without departing from the scope orspirit of the present principles. All such changes and modifications areintended to be included within the scope of the present principles asset forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for attaching and securing a wearablesensor to an article of clothing, the method comprising: providing asensor clip-on casing having a surface defining an opening; providing asensor configured to be received into the opening of the clip-on casing;positioning an article of clothing between the opening of the sensorclip-on casing and the sensor; squeezing the sensor into the openingsensor clip-on casing such that the article of clothing is sandwichedbetween the sensor and the sensor clip-on casing, said wearable sensorbeing positioned adjacent a skin of a user, and being further configuredto be in intermittent direct contact with the skin of the user when thearticle of clothing is worn.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising detecting whether the wearable sensor is attached to anarticle of clothing.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein saiddetecting comprises: determining if light is being received by anoptical sensor contained on an upper surface of the sensor; when lightis being received by the optical sensor, transmitting a signal to aremote device indicating that the wearable sensor is not attached to anarticle of clothing; and when light is not being received by the opticalsensor, transmitting a signal to a remote device indicating that thewearable sensor is attached to an article of clothing.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising providing a remote computingdevice configured to read signals transmitted by the sensor.
 5. Themethod according to claim 4, further comprising providing an off-sitehealth database in communication with the remote computing device, saidoff side health database being configured to: receive sensor signalsfrom the remote computing device; compare the received signals topredetermined ranges of data relating to the user and the sensedcondition relating to the received signal; and transmit response signalsto the remote computing device based on such comparison.
 6. A wearablesensor comprising: an outer clip-on casing having an opening; and asensor assembly configured to be received and secured into the outerclip-on casing opening; wherein an article of clothing is positionedbetween the outer clip-on casing and the sensor such that the sameresults in a secure fit between clip-on casing and sensor, said sensorbeing positioned adjacent a skin of a user, and being further configuredto be in intermittent direct contact with the skin of the user when thearticle of clothing is worn.
 7. The wearable sensor according to claim6, wherein said sensor assembly further comprises: a micro-controller; atransmitter in signal communication with the micro-controller; at leastone sensor in signal communication with the micro-controller; and apower source connected to the micro-controller, transmitter and the atleast one condition specific sensor.
 8. The wearable sensor according toclaim 7, wherein the at least one sensor comprises one or moreaccelerometers.
 9. The wearable sensor according to claim 7, wherein theat least one sensor comprises at least one of a blood pressure sensor, alight sensor, a sound sensor, a pressure sensor, a proximity sensor, aconductance sensor, a heart rate sensor and a temperature sensor. 10.The wearable sensor according to claim 7, further comprising a mobilecomputing device in signal communication with the sensor, the mobilecomputing device configured to receive transmitted signals from thewearable sensor.
 11. The wearable sensor according to claim 10, furthercomprising a remotely located health status database in signalcommunication with the mobile device, said health status database beingconfigured to analyze transmitted signals received from the mobiledevice relating to sensor measurements and provide status indicationsback to the mobile device relating to the same.